UB Welcomes New Deans in Arts and Sciences and in Law

Category: Noteworthy

Laura Koppes Bryan; photography: Chris Hartlove

Laura Koppes Bryan joined the University of Baltimore’s Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences on Aug. 1 as professor and dean.

Bryan came to UB from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, where she was a tenured professor of psychology and director of the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences. She also built and co-directed the university’s Center for Applied Psychology and served as special assistant to the provost for strategic planning and resource allocation. Prior to joining that institution, Bryan served in academic positions at the University of Kentucky and at Eastern Kentucky University, and in 2004, she was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic.

“Transformational institutions require transformational leaders, and Laura Bryan has exhibited the professional and personal skills that will contribute to UB’s continued growth and forward momentum,” UB President Robert L. Bogomolny says. “A vital College of Arts and Sciences is at the core of undergraduate education.”

Bryan shares these sentiments, indicating she will focus on defining the role and responsibility of the college as UB’s center of cultural and intellectual excellence and as an integral part of the University of Baltimore of the future. She says she is also committed to emphasizing professional development opportunities for both faculty and staff, and she has conducted research on the role of leaders in fostering professional cultures that support work-life-family balance and effectiveness. She holds a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from The Ohio State University.

Ronald Weich; photography: JJ Chrystal

Ronald Weich, most recently the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs in the U.S. Department of Justice, began his tenure as dean of the UB School of Law in July.

Former chief counsel to both U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Weich was a longtime federal official and brings expertise in criminal justice and the legislative process to his new position. Weich has played key roles in enacting ethics reform law and amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in addition to other significant legislation. He has advised policymakers on civil and criminal justice issues, drug control policy, patient safety legislation, constitutional amendments and other matters.

“Ron Weich is the right person to continue the growth and transformation of the UB School of Law,” Bogomolny said in announcing Weich’s appointment. “During this time of considerable transition in legal education and the legal profession, it is important to have leadership with integrity and vision. Ron Weich embodies those qualities.”

As dean, Weich will oversee the law school’s move from its current home to the new John and Frances Angelos Law Center, scheduled to open next spring at the corner of North Charles Street and West Mount Royal Avenue. He says the new building will help the school prepare students to be effective in all aspects of the law. “Our new building makes an important statement: Let’s move ahead into the legal profession of the 21st century,” he says. “We’re teaching our students contemporary skills to solve real problems.”

Weich earned a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Columbia University.